Amorphous bread loaf - why?

12 years ago

Hello again. I really need some help here because it's quite frustrating.

The dough rises just great - both on the first and second round - after i gently punch it, shape the loaf & place in on a cookie sheet).

Once in the oven, the loaf settles and spreads instead of rising. I end up getting a sort of plump flat loaf that's yummy, but I'd like a loaf that looks like a loaf.

Any suggestions will be most welcome! TIA!!

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Comments (8)

grainlady_ks
12 years ago
The quick-fix (cheating, yet effective) answer is to place the dough into a round cake pan. ;-)

More seriously, if you have or can get a copy of Peter Reinhart's "Crust & Crumb" from the library, he shows a good technique on page 20 - using the twice-folded dough, then rounding it. The video at the link below will also be a great help showing essentially what is described in Crust & Crumb.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Bread Dough - shaping a boule
wintercat_gw
Original Author
12 years ago
Many thanks!

I just watched the video - wonderful! I'll do just that.

How lucky there's a video. I'm in Israel and there's no way I can get hold of Reinhart's book.

How lucky there's a Grainlady :-)
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bugster2
12 years ago
I have had that problem with a few recipes for bread. I solved it by baking the bread in a loaf pan.
lpinkmountain
12 years ago
This problem is the bane of my bread baking. I bought a romertopf clay baker to bake my bread in to solve this problem. I also use the loaf pans. There must be some doughs that are more prone to this than others, but I don't know the science of it. I just know that the breads I bake are the country type so should be fairly springy but just flatten out whenever I try to shape them oval or round. I did have luck with small rolls for some reason, lol!
lpinkmountain
12 years ago
Well I just watched the video, and I have to say that I kinda shape my loaves like that and they look great, then that LAST step, where she takes the loaf and transfers it to the basket. That is the point when my loaves deflate, no matter how carefully I transfer them. I think that's why my rolls did OK, I shaped them in my hands, so didn't have to transfer them from a flat surface to a tray or pan.
annie1992
12 years ago
L. don't feel alone. I've tried the Peter Reinhart method and it doesn't work any better for me than any other method.

Some of my breads flatten out and some don't, and usually it's specific recipes. I have had little luck with the no-knead breads either, the act of getting that dough from the rising surface to the hot pan flattens it every time and it never seems to rise back up.

It all tastes good and if I want a specific shape I know that I have to use a specific recipe that has given me that shape before. On the upside, I've purchased local "artisan" breads, including one $7 (!!) loaf from a local bakery with a wood fired oven, widely known for their bread. It was no higher than mine, their round loaf was about 3 inches high in the center, so I felt better.

Annie
westsider40
12 years ago
The artisan bread in five authors suggest a longer rising time for flatter, denser loaves. Careful gentle transfers help a bit. Using a covered pot, and not necessarily a preheated one, is helpful. It's a journey.
wintercat_gw
Original Author
12 years ago
What I did after watching the boule video was try KAF hearth bread again, but instead of shaping two longish logs I made a boule with all the dough and I did that after the first rise.

Then I set the boule on a cookie sheet and let it rise again 45 minutes as the recipe advises for a "lighter, crustier bread". The boule kept its shape marvellously - both during the second rise and in the oven. I ended up with a large proudly domed loaf.

When I made the boule I could actually feel the dough getting into shape so to speak. It's a bit like creating a sort of corset for the bread. I know it sounds bizarre, but that's the image that came to my mind as I was doing it.

Here is a link that might be useful: KAF's Hearth Bread recipe

Amorphous bread loaf - why?

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grainlady_ks

wintercat_gw
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Amorphous bread loaf - why?

Comments (8)

grainlady_ks

wintercat_gwOriginal Author

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bugster2

lpinkmountain

lpinkmountain

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westsider40

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wintercat_gw
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